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Canada is about to receive the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines for children

As Canada prepares to receive its first shipment of children’s COVID-19 vaccine today, many jurisdictions say they are ready to begin the next phase of the country’s immunization campaign but are working to Wait for supplies before opening the appointment time.

Health Canada approved the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages five to 11 on Friday, after a month-long review of safety and efficacy data from Pfizer-BioNTech.

The regulator says the vaccine, which is used in smaller doses than the adult version and has a slightly different formulation, is 90.7 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 in children and does not any serious side effects have been identified.

Provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia have adopted pre-registration systems to help vaccinate children, but have yet to share detailed plans for the vaccine’s rollout.

New Brunswick released a statement saying eligibility for the vaccine would be expanded to include children aged five to 11 as soon as a supply of children’s doses was received, but the province did not provide information about the expected time.

Many public health units in Ontario had not updated their rollout plans as of Sunday afternoon, with areas including Peel, Windsor-Essex and Waterloo saying Friday that appointments are scheduled will open early this week.

The Durham region said Friday that it anticipates opening booking sites on Monday, while the Toronto Department of Public Health released a statement Friday saying it is preparing to open 20,000 seats over the period. November 25 to December 5 at city-run immunization clinics.

Manitoba is one of the few jurisdictions to release reservations before Sunday. The province announced Friday that parents and caregivers can begin booking first dose appointments for eligible children by phone or online as of 6 a.m. Monday.

Sean Sedlacek, a Winnipeg father, said he’ll try to schedule an appointment for his five-year-old son as soon as it opens.

Sedlacek said he and his wife felt “an incredible sense of relief” on Friday when it was reported that Health Canada had authorized Pfizer to administer the children’s vaccines.

Sedlacek and his wife made an appointment to get vaccinated when they were eligible earlier this year and said they wanted to do the same for their only child.

“We really just wanted to protect him as much as possible,” he said. “I know the risk is a lot lower for young children, but you can’t control what other people are doing. I just want to make sure I’m doing the best I can to keep our family protected. guard.”

Meanwhile, in British Columbia, parents have been able to pre-register their child for an appointment online or by phone. The province said more than 75,000 children were registered as of Friday, putting them on a list that will be contacted for appointments when bookings open.

Alberta has announced a similar pre-registration program, adding that the province will begin administering the shots later this week provided doses arrive as scheduled.

Saskatchewan is expected to release details on Monday about its plan to immunize about 115,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11. Health and education officials are working to set up clinics at schools, and Education Minister Dustin Duncan last week said the government was also working on a plan to ensure protesters Anti-vaccination sentiment doesn’t go to schools like it does in hospitals.

Meanwhile, Quebec’s Health Minister, Christian Dube, said on Friday that the province’s immunization plan would be announced this week, adding that he hoped 700,000 children of the approved age group would be eligible. First dose at Christmas.

Some public health units are setting up vaccination clinics in schools and expanding existing mass vaccination sites. Pharmacies and GP’s offices are also expected to offer fighter services in some jurisdictions.

Toronto said hundreds of schools in Ontario’s most populous city will host clinics, but vaccines will not be provided during school hours.

Children are not vaccinated without parental consent.

Canada is hoping to deliver 2.9 million children’s doses faster, enough for a first shot for every child between the ages of 5 and 11.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children on October 29, and the US has vaccinated more than two million children.

Samira Jeimy, an allergist and immunologist at Western University in London, Ont., says it can be frustrating for eager parents to be told they have to wait to book an appointment. Make an appointment to vaccinate your child.

“I don’t blame the parents who waited at the edge of their seats – like me,” she said in an interview Saturday. “I understand from the point of view of trying to keep things organized, but I feel that we should really be ready to mobilize things.”

With files from Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton

This Canadian Press report was first published on November 21, 2021.

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